A rash guard, also known as a rash vest or even abbreviated to ‘rashie’, is a shirt-like garment providing protection for the wearer against sunburn and associated skin damage and the development of adverse skin conditions from rubbing or chafing against a water-sports device such as a body-board or surfboard. It is popular with surfers and body-boarders in warm water conditions.
The use of rash guards has developed and expanded to become considered a form of general beachwear, becoming popular as a sun protection garment for children. Use among adults too has increased. The rashguard is evolving into a leisure garment suitable for activities and environments other than the beach, to the extent that it is becoming a fashion item for various post-beach and early-evening social occasions.
A segment of the potential market appears to have been ignored however, namely that of practically half the adult population—women—and in particular women with obvious busts. Modesty, physical health and comfort considerations oblige many members of this segment to don an item of underwear or a suitably supportive bikini top or a one-piece swimsuit to support and/or restrain or confine their breasts. This choice itself has its drawbacks—comfort and aesthetics among them. Rash guards being made from lightweight, moisture-wicking fabrics such as spandex, tend to have superior drying capabilities to the items of underwear such as brassieres and supportive bikini tops. The resultant uneven drying rate also leads to discomfort.
Another disadvantage of having to wear a bikini top under the rash guard is that the rash guard tends to move over and raise itself up above the bikini top whilst a woman is swimming or performing routine activities, causing the wearer repeated manual adjustments to realign both the rash guard and bikini top. The separate bikini top or bra worn underneath the rash guard also cause unsightly bulges and give an unkempt look.
An alternative is for the woman to not wear a bikini or bra underneath the rash guard. This may be acceptable for some women, but is a definite disadvantage for larger breasted women who require breast support, and for most women performing sports such as running, yoga, canoeing, windsurfing or other physical activities during which additional breast support is sought. Accordingly, there is a need for a women's rash guard that provides constant built-in bra cups and underwire support for the breasts.
Prior patent publications have not provided a solution. A US patent to Edelman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,012, describes an underwired brassiere that may be incorporated into a swimsuit or a foundation garment. It has shoulder straps or boning in the torso strap to provide vertical support to drape the fabric of the breast cups over the breasts of the wearer. The underwiring diverges from stitching that supports the breasts towards the wearer's arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,236 to Boynton describes a garment designed to be close fitting, so as to prevent or at least greatly inhibit breast movement, essentially by pressing the breasts against the wearer's torso. This type of garment does not support the breasts in a near-natural orientation that assists the supportive muscular structure of the wearer. This is a feature of some athletic swimsuits that provide stronger bust support through achieving a close fit to the body during athletic activity and movement (such as in the sport of diving), and serves in keeping the swimsuit in place,
In online fashion forums, women are asking others for ideas on what to wear under a rash guard for bust support, some indicating they need to wear a bra or a conventional underwire bikini top. In light of the evolving uses and acceptability of the rash guard beyond the traditional beach environment, the term “rash guard” in this specification, including the claims, is intended to be interpreted widely and encompass these applications.